1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image diagnosis supporting apparatus, a method and a program, and recording medium thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a technique suitable for comparing and interpreting slice image groups with different photographing opportunities or modalities.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a computer-aided diagnosis apparatus has been proposed in which an image including a possible lesion obtained by a first modality and an image including a possible lesion obtained from a second modality different from the first modality are compared each other, the possible lesions included in the images are identified, the images including the possible lesions are displayed side by side, and the identified possible lesions are displayed so that the possible lesions can be mutually specified (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-180932).
A computer-aided image diagnosis system has also been proposed in which a reference slice image (for example, a slice image at the end of the lung field) is set from a slice image group of photographs of the lung field at a first photographing opportunity, a slice image at the same slice position as the reference slice image (position at the end of the lung field) from a slice image group at a second photographing opportunity different from the first photographing opportunity is set as a reference slice image, and slice images that are the same distance away from the reference slice images are respectively selected from the slice image group at the first photographing opportunity and the slice image group at the second photographing opportunity, thereby enabling to compare the slice images (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-187499).